Co-ordinator: Jean Paul Meyer – Editor: – Assistant Editors: Brent Manley & French Editor: Guy Dupont – Layout Editor: Stelios Hatzidakis – Photographer: Ron Tacchi

Issue No. 9 PDF version, courtesy of EBL Tuesday, 30 October 2001 Gold For USA II Seniors MATCHES

Venice Cup – Semi-final (Session 1) – 10.30 FRANCE v USA II – Semi-final (Session 2) – 13.20 ITALY v NORWAY Bermuda Bowl – Semi-final (Session 3) – 16.10 POLAND v USA II Semi-final (Session 4) – 21.00 The Gold medal winners in the Seniors Bowl to be decided The first title of the Paris World Championships has gone to a team representing North America. USA II com- prising Grant Baze, Gene Freed, Garey Hayden, Contents Joseph Kivel, Chris Larsen & John Onstott took the crown by defeating Poland, who were represented by Bermuda Bowl Quarter-Finals ...... 2 Wit Klapper, Andrzej Milde, Jerzy Russyan, Stefan Quarter-Finals ...... 2 Szenberg, Wlodzimierz Wala & Andrzej Wilkosz, Seniors Bowl Quarter-Finals ...... 2 NPC Wlodzimierz Stobiecki. France took the bronze Welcome message from José Damiani ...... 3 medal by defeating USA I. Transnational Teams Results ...... 3 There were no surprises in the Bermuda Bowl and The Seniors were right ...... 4 Venice Cup as the teams enjoying an overnight lead all con- Polish Power Play ...... 5 solidated their advantages. That was especially true in the case of Italy, who outscored USA I 124-9 IMPs over the Venice Cup (England v The Netherlands) ...... 6 last two sets. La Fayette nous voilà! ...... 8 In the semifinals, Norway, Germany & France all The Labours of Hercules ...... 9 enjoy a significant carry over advantage. The French Team Open Société Générale Profile . . . . . 10 The early leaders of the Transnational Teams were Zim- Asking for Tens ...... 11 merman from France and Mansell from South Africa. Bermuda Bowl (USA I v Italy) ...... 12 As we go to press they were meeting each other in round Seniors Bowl (USA II v Poland) ...... 16 three. WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS Paris, France Bermuda Bowl Quarter-finals Carry-over Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 4 Session 5 Session 6 Total 1 POLAND INDIA 0 - 1 33 - 18 61 - 12 53 - 21 64 - 10 21 - 30 47 - 13 279 -105 2 USA II FRANCE 15 - 0 41 - 36 41 - 35 48 - 47 38 - 13 58 - 28 35 - 19 276 -178 3 NORWAY INDONESIA 0 - 1.3 51 - 43 49 - 45 39 - 33 67 - 30 75 - 36 16 - 27 297 -215.3 4USA I ITALY 5 - 0 14 - 43 27 - 55 71 - 28 20 - 12 0 - 57 9 - 67 146 -262 Venice Cup Quarter-finals Carry-over Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 4 Session 5 Session 6 Total 5 FRANCE S. AFRICA 16 - 0 39 - 11 24 - 23 63 - 46 43 - 35 22 - 17 47 - 0 254 -132 6 ENGLAND USA II 16 - 0 27 - 41 33 - 22 38 - 63 27 - 60 32 - 54 38 - 25 211 -265 7USA I GERMANY 1 - 0 35 - 49 3 - 57 55 - 32 57 - 31 10 - 68 35 - 27 196 -264 8 CHINA AUSTRIA 0 -5.7 14 - 28 43 - 56 45 - 26 14 - 43 14 - 42 27 - 37 157 -237.7 Seniors Bowl Final Carry-over Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Total 9 POLAND USA II 0 - 0 16 - 41 35 - 47 21 - 20 72 -108

Play-off Carry-over Session 1 Session 2 Total 10 USA I FRANCE 0 - 7.3 29 - 53 32 - 45 61 -105.3 Bermuda Bowl Semi-finals Carry-over Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 4 Session 5 Session 6 Total 1 POLAND USA II 3 - 0 2 NORWAY ITALY 16 - 0 Venice Cup Semi-finals Carry-over Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 4 Session 5 Session 6 Total 3 FRANCE USA II 15.5 - 0 4 GERMANY AUSTRIA 16 - 0

2 22nd October - 3rd November WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Welcome to the Transnational Teams Transnational Teams RESULTS AFTER 2 MATCHES from José Damiani, Team Country VPs 1 ZIMMERMAN . . . . .FRA ...... 48 president of the WBF 2 MANSELL ...... ZAF ...... 48 3 YANHUEI ...... CHN ...... 46 4 MOERS J...... GLP ...... 43 5 RAND ...... ISR ...... 42 My friends - so many friends. First of all, I am sorry if I was 6 MUZZIO ...... ARG ...... 41 rather abrupt when I welcomed you to our Championships 7 KOWALSKI ...... POL ...... 41 8 BRACHMAN . . . . .USA ...... 39 last evening. I ask for your understanding - as a matter of fact 9 FREED G...... USA ...... 39 I am sure all of you understood that the move from Bali to 10 (ENERGOM) . . . . .POL ...... 39 Paris was not so easy, and I have particularly asked for disci- 11 JAGNIEWSKI . . . . .POL . . . . .GER . . . . .39 12 DURMUS U...... GBR . . . . .NOR . . . . .38 pline and co-operation from all the players, which we have re- 13 GRESH ...... FRA ...... 38 ceived in full measure up to now, and am sure that we will 14 LEWACIAK ...... POL ...... 37 continue to receive until the end of the Championships. 15 ZELIKOVSKI ...... NTH . . . . .ISR ...... 37 16 PIOTRONSKI . . . . .POL ...... 37 One of the biggest difficulties we had to face was to find 17 KIRILENKO ...... RUS ...... 37 18 HACKETT ...... ENG . . . . .USA . . . . .37 a venue large enough for the playing area, and even though 19 KIRAN N...... IND ...... 37 we are delighted to welcome 74 teams, only 57 were regis- 20 HANNAH A...... LIB ...... 36 tered in advance, so you can imagine that it would have been 21 BLUMENTAL . . . . .FRA ...... 36 22 BUREAU ...... FRA ...... 36 much easier to find the right solution if we had known how 23 ERAN S...... ISR ...... 35 many of you would come.We will do our best under the cir- 24 NIMHAUSER . . . . .FRA ...... 35 cumstances to ensure that you are comfortable and that you 25 BLACKSTOCK . . . .NZL ...... 35 26 REID ...... NZL ...... 35 enjoy the Championships. 27 MARMION ...... FRA ...... 34 28 CHANG M...... USA . . . . .GBR . . . . .34 But I want especially to thank you - to thank you so very 29 CRONIX ...... AZS . . . . .POL . . . . .34 much for being here in Paris. Bridge has shown, in the midst 30 AUKEN J...... DEN ...... 32 of these tragic circumstances its solidarity, and our family is 31 LARA M...... POR . . . . .GER . . . . .32 32 BERGHEIMER . . . . .FRA ...... 32 even stronger than it was. If we all shared the horror felt by 33 FRANCOLINI . . . .FRA ...... 31 the Americans on 11th September, and indeed, still feel 34 COURTNEY ...... GBR ...... 31 American, if we will never forget the tragedy, nonetheless we 35 ISMIR ...... FRA ...... 31 36 MOHTASHAMI . . .FRA ...... 30 made the decision to show the world that we are able to 37 KOLPORTER . . . . .POL ...... 30 react, that we are still standing and that we will continue to 38 GRINBERG ...... ISR ...... 29 39 VENTIN J...... SPA ...... 28 fight for our ideals – one of them being Olympism and the 40 OTOVSI ...... POL ...... 28 other our own belief in 'Bridge for Peace' 41 WOOLSEY ...... USA ...... 27 42 HARPER ...... GBR ...... 27 60 million bridge players in the world can represent a for- 43 VALK A.J...... NTH . . . . .BEL ...... 27 midable lobbying group.As the most visible part of this group, 44 BAKER ...... USA ...... 27 it is up to us to show the way. 45 KAPLAN L...... FRA ...... 27 46 CICHOCKI M. . . . .POL ...... 27 We believe in the educational value of our sport where 47 STOBIECKI ...... POL ...... 26 respect of the rules and ethics of the competition does not 48 MOZA ...... FRA ...... 26 49 MARKOWICZ . . . .POL . . . . .ISR ...... 26 preclude its conviviality and our wish for peace. Such are the 50 WOJCICKI ...... POL ...... 26 values that we share throughout the world and that we wish 51 KHIOUPPENEN . . .RUS ...... 26 52 POPLILOV ...... ISR ...... 26 to defend all together. 53 PRIDAY T...... GBR ...... 26 So - it is good to see you - all of you. In the Bermuda Bowl 54 VILLABOAS ...... BRA ...... 26 55 PRESCOTT ...... AUS ...... 25 we were sad that the Pakistani players were obliged to with- 56 VOLDOIRE ...... FRA ...... 24 draw, but here we can welcome the most famous Pakistani 57 MORIN ...... FRA ...... 24 player of them all, Zia Mahmood, and add another country 58 GROMOV ...... RUS ...... 24 59 DENNISON ...... FRA ...... 22 to the many nationalities who compete here. 60 WILD AVSKY . . . . .USA . . . . .CAN . . . . .22 The idea of Transnational events has already proved to be 61 MANOPPO ...... IDN ...... 22 62 HAMEED T...... BAH ...... 22 a success as in the first two editions we have been happy to 63 GRIME P...... NOR ...... 21 get approximately the same number of teams, with many 64 CORSICA ...... FRA ...... 21 65 ROTHFIELD ...... AUS . . . . .USA . . . . .21 great Champions playing and, indeed, winning. 66 PARMADI ...... IDN ...... 19 These championships are dedicated to the victims of ter- 67 BURAS K...... POL ...... 19 68 JUVENIA ...... POL ...... 17 rorism, and also to you the players, because I assure you that 69 HENG A.K...... SIN ...... 17 you are our only concern, because we know you, and because 70 PORTAL ...... FRA ...... 17 we love you. 71 ACHTERBERG . . . .SWI . . . . .FRA ...... 15 72 KHVEN M...... RUS ...... 13 God bless our bridge family.The show goes on! 73 JELLOULI ...... TUN ...... 12 74 YIU CHAN ...... HGK ...... 7

3 WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS Paris, France

The Seniors were right by Christian Farwig

hile some of the German ladies were waiting for the [– WMetro to take them away from the Stade de France last ]6 Saturday, members of a Seniors team approached them and stat- ed that the combination of beauty and wit as displayed by the {J 9 8 German ladies team is very dangerous. Unfortunately, no more }K 7 pleasantries were exchanged since the conversation was cut [ K J 8N [ 4 2 short by two of the husbands showing up. But being married to ]A ]Q 9 one of the ladies, I can confirm that they were right. At least in W E the domestic area. {Q {– But they also show their ferocity at the table, as proved by }5S }Q 6 this masterpiece of against the USA I team in the [– Venice Cup quarterfinal. ]– 11. Dealer South. None Vul. { 10 6 5 [ A Q 6 } J 10 9 ]J 6 3 The fall of the king of diamonds from East confirmed her sus- { J 9 8 3 picion about the overall distribution and judging West to have a }A K 7 5-4-2-2-hand, she rejected the club and instead played club to the king to her last spade. Now the second round of [ K J 8 7 3N [ 9 5 4 2 trumps brought West in to an unavoidable and netted ] A K 8 2 ] Q 9 7 5 4 W E well deserved +600, a feat not duplicated by any other declarer {Q 7 {K on this hand. } 5 3S } Q 6 4 [10 ]10 Transnational { A 10 6 5 4 2 Schedule } J 10 9 8 2 Tuesday 30 October The bidding went: 11.00 Match 4 West North East South 14.00 Match 5 15.50 Match 6 Auken Von Arnim 17.30 Match 7 2[(1) Dble(2) 2NT 3] 3NT(3) Wednesday 31 October Dble 4{ Dble 4] 13.00 Match 8 Dble Pass Pass 4[ 14.50 Match 9 Pass 5{ All Pass 16.30 Match 10 (1) Two-suiter in either minors or majors 18.20 Match 11 (2) Majors (3) Minors and maximum Thursday I November 11.00 Match 12 After coming close to bidding a slam, v. Arnim - Auken ven- 14.00 Match 13 tured for the Diamond-game.The of a small heart 15.50 Match 14 was won by West, who returned a spade. 17.30 Match 15 Sabine Auken now reasoned that the spade finesse was sure to win - something, which could not be said about the club fi- nesse. So, as a precaution, she made the finesse and discarded a Friday 2 November club on the spade ace. Now she ruffed a heart, lead a club to the 10.30 Semi-Final Session 1 ace, ruffed another heart and cashed the ace of diamonds to 13.20 Semi-Final Session 2 reach this position: 17.10 Final Session 1

Saturday 3 November 10.30 Final Session 2 [ ] { } 13.20 Final Session 3

4 22nd October - 3rd November WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Polish Power Play

oland is in ominously good form. Here are two examples of North led a low spade for the nine and declarer's jack. De- Phow they score points. In Round 6 they faced Egypt, the sur- clarer ducked a heart to South and the club switch went to the prise team that so nearly qualified. king and ace.A diamond to the nine was followed by the ace of diamonds and the queen, North pitching a spade.The spade re- Board 15. Dealer South. N/S Vul. turn went to dummy's king and declarer came back to hand with [ 10 8 6 the ace of hearts.After cashing the ace of spades, these cards re- ] A Q 10 7 2 mained: { A Q 10 5 [Q }10 ]Q 9 [ 7N [ Q 5 4 3 2 ] J 5 4 3 ] K 8 {– W E { J 6 2 { K 7 4 }5 } K Q J 8 2S } 9 5 3 [–N [– ]4 ]J 7 [A K J 9 W E ]9 6 {J 6 {– {9 8 3 }9S }J 7 } A 7 6 4 [– West North East South ]– Zmudzinski Balicki { 10 5 1} }Q 10 Pass 1] Pass 1[ Now declarer could choose how to endplay South. Pass 2{ Pass 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass Adam Zmudzinski led the king of clubs. Reminder to players Looking at the array of points in his own hand, Balicki realised that his partner could hardly have an outside the club suit. in the World Setting a trap, Balicki played the nine. In order of priority, that was discouraging, suit preference or from an odd number. De- Transnational Open clarer, believing that with the singleton ten visible in dummy East Teams Championship would encourage with three clubs to the nine, was taken in and fatally won the second club. All players, and especially those newly arrived, are In Round 16 Poland faced Brazil. reminded that the WBF Code of Practice is in force at these Championships. Directors' judgemental rul- Board 10. Dealer East.All Vul. ings are made after consultation with other Direc- [ Q 10 8 6 4 tors and with players of sound knowledge and known ] Q 9 8 3 ability. It is not suggested that an appeal may not be made when there is a sound case for arguing that {8 3 even after these careful consultations the ruling is in- }K 5 correct, but the onus is on appellants to provide [A J 7N [K 5 strong evidence to the appeals committee that the ] A 4 2 ] J 7 6 5 Director's ruling should not be allowed to stand.The W E { A Q J 9 6 { 7 appeals committee starts with an assumption that the } 9 2S } A J 7 6 4 3 Director's ruling is correct and will only set this as- sumption aside if satisfied that the players have [9 3 2 shown sound reasons to do so.The WBF authorizes ]K 10 Directors to make rulings under Law 12C3, and to { K 10 5 4 2 make weighted score adjustments in appropriate } Q 10 8 cases.Where made these rulings generally reflect the balance of opinions amongst those consulted. During West North East South the Championships to the end of the Quarter Finals Zmudzinski Chagas Balicki Brenner it may be noted that only one appeal has occurred Pass Pass and it is believed the method in which rulings are 1NT Pass 2} Pass now made has largely contributed to this as a result 2{ Pass 3} Pass of the method and of the extended powers of the Di- 3{ Pass 3] Pass rectors in seeking an equitable adjustment. 3NT All Pass

5 WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS Paris, France

ROUND 14 Venice Cup By Tony Gordon (England) England v The Netherlands

Van Zwol took her ace she played a heart to her partner's ace and received a club ruff in return; however, Dhondy could now pick up the suit without loss and she emerged with nine tricks for +140 to England. West North East South Courtney Vriend Brock V.d. Pas 2[(1) Pass 4[ All Pass (1) weak with 5 spades and 4+ in a minor

There was more at stake at the other table where Marijke Van der Pas and reached 4[. Margaret Courtney began with an aggressive {A, and then switched to the ]5. De- clarer played low from dummy and won with the ace. Either red card will defeat the contract at this point, but it must have seemed to Brock that her partner was in clubs as she continued with the }3.This ran to the ace and Van der Pas then cashed dummy's other black ace.When the [J appeared on her left, she ducked the next round to Courtney's king. Courtney ex- ited with a heart and when the ten held declarer could have ruffed out the {K and made the contract, but she won with the Femke Hoogweg,The Netherlands ]Q, drew the last trump and conceded a club for one down. +50 and 5 IMPs to England. he Netherlands were in eighth place going into this match, After a dull first half, England led 8-7. Tbut with England,Austria and France still to play, they would do well to reach the quarter-finals. For their part, England trailed Board 13. Dealer North.All Vul. leaders France by 36 VPs but would be keen to consolidate their second place. [Q 5 ]9 Board 3. Dealer South. E/W Vul. { 10 9 8 3 [A 7 3 } K Q 10 7 5 3 ] K 10 7 [ K 8 6 2N [ A 9 { Q J 10 9 7 ] A Q 10 8 4 ] K 7 6 3 W E }A 9 { A Q 6 { J 7 5 4 [ K JN [ 10 5 2 }AS }J 6 2 ] J 9 6 5 2 ] A 8 W E [ J 10 7 4 3 { A 8 6 5 4 { K 3 ]J 5 2 S } J } K 8 7 6 5 3 {K 2 [ Q 9 8 6 4 }9 8 4 ]Q 4 3 {2 West North East South } Q 10 4 2 Courtney Vriend Brock V.d. Pas Pass Pass Pass West North East South 1] Pass 2NT(1) Pass Van Zwol Dhondy Hoogweg Smith 3[ Pass 4] All Pass Pass (1) Limit raise Pass 1NT Pass 2](1) Pass 2[ All Pass West North East South Van Zwol Dhondy Hoogweg Smith (1) Transfer Pass Pass Pass Femke Hoogweg led the {K against Heather Dhondy's 2[, 1] Pass 2}(1) Pass and then switched to a club to the jack and ace. Dhondy now 2[ Pass 4] All Pass played the {Q and discarded a heart from hand.When Wietske (1) Drury

6 22nd October - 3rd November WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS

West North East South Van Zwol Dhondy Hoogweg Smith 1[ Pass 2{ Pass 2[ Pass 2NT Pass 4[ All Pass

Van Zwol began with the ]K, but then switched to her trump. won the [J and followed with the [A. She now cashed dummy's top clubs, discarding her last heart, and ruffed a club, before exiting with a trump to East. If Hoogweg were to play a diamond, the defence would lose their diamond trick, but when she tried the ]A instead, Smith ruffed and exited with another spade. Hoogweg continued hearts, but when de- clarer ruffed with her last trump Van Zwol was squeezed in the minors. +620 and 12 IMPs to England. Both teams bid the grand slam on board 18, but another big swing went England's way on the final board. Board 20. Dealer West.All Vul. [ 10 6 ] A J 10 {4 3 } K Q 7 4 3 2 [K 7 5N [J 4 2 ] Q 8 ] 9 6 5 4 3 2 W E { K 10 9 5 { Q J } A 10 8 5S } J 6 [ A Q 9 8 3 Sally Brock, England ]K 7 { A 8 7 6 2 A missed opportunity for both teams.Van Zwol drew three }9 rounds of trumps and made twelve tricks when the {K was dou- bleton onside. Courtney gained an IMP for England when she West North East South drew only two rounds of trumps and was able to ruff both los- Courtney Vriend Brock V.d. Pas ing spades in the dummy for thirteen tricks. 1} 2} Pass 2[ Pass 3} Pass 3NT Board 15. Dealer South. N/S Vul. All Pass [9 ] 10 7 Courtney led the {10 against 3NT and Van der Pas took her ace and played a club to the king. The [10 was covered by the { A 9 8 7 5 jack, queen and king, and Courtney continued with the {5 to } A K 10 8 2 Brock's queen.A club to Courtney's ace allowed her to cash two [ 4N [ K 10 8 3 more diamond winners, so Van der Pas was one down for +100 ] K Q J 6 ] A 8 5 3 2 to England. W E {J 6 4 {Q 2 West North East South } J 7 6 5 3S } Q 4 Van Zwol Dhondy Hoogweg Smith [ A Q J 7 6 5 2 1{ 2} Pass 2[ Pass 3} Pass 3NT ]9 4 All Pass { K 10 3 }9 Van Zwol elected to lead the ]Q and Smith won in hand with the king and advanced the }9. It was difficult for Van Zwol to re- West North East South alise that she had to rise with the ace and switch to a diamond, Courtney Vriend Brock V.d. Pas and when she ducked, the hand was over.When dummy's king 3[ held the trick, Smith turned her attention to spades.The [10 was Pass 4[ All Pass covered by the jack, queen and king, and Van Zwol continued hearts. However, declarer now had nine tricks by way of 4 Courtney cashed two rounds of hearts and switched to a spades, 3 hearts, a club and a diamond. +600 and 12 IMPs to Eng- club.There was no way for declarer to avoid two trumps losers, land who won the match by 51-11 IMPs, 23-7 VPs,to stay in sec- so she was one down for +100 to England. ond place.

7 WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS Paris, France

La Fayette nous voilà ! Par Guy Dupont

Réflexions stupides tre France - Afrique du Sud,il se traduisit par une égalité, les deux paires Nord-Sud l'ayant appelé (l'autre paire étant Mmes Auken- Pourquoi faire si long? Pourquoi faire si court? Des quarts de Von Arnim). finale en 96 donnes, c'est à la fois trop et trop peu pour les kib- itz et pour les joueurs.Trop, dans trois rencontres sur quatre de Donne 12. Ouest donneur, N/S vulnérables la Bermuda Bowl, puisqu'à 32 donnes de la fin, on notait un écart supérieur à 50 points au bénéfice de la Pologne sur l'Inde (+149), [ D 6 5 3 de la Norvège sur l'Indonésie (+ 54) et des Etats-Unis 2 sur la ]A D V 8 France (+52). Sans doute n'était-ce pas " irratrappable ", mais dis- {A D 8 6 ons qu'on n'y croyait plus beaucoup. D'ailleurs, les écarts s'ac- centuèrent encore dans la cinquième séance. En revanche, il sem- }A blait, pour notre plus grand plaisir, que l'on aurait pu continuer le [ R 8N [ 7 4 2 match Etats-Unis 1 - Italie (sorte de finale avant la lettre, op- ] R 6 4 3 ] 10 9 7 posant les tenants du titre aux champions olympiques) une se- O E maine durant, voire un mois, puisque l'écart n'était que de 1 { V 9 7 3 { 10 4 2 point, après 64 donnes. Toutefois, tout cela est très relatif, et le } 10 7 6S } R D 5 4 bridge sait nous ménager bien des surprises, puisque l'Italie se [ A V 10 9 déchaîna dans les deux dernières séances, en l'emportant par 57 ]5 2 à 0, puis par 67 à 9 ! Pareil pour la Venice Cup : trois rencontres semblaient " {R 5 pliées ", à 32 donnes de la fin. L'avantage de la France sur l'Afrique } V 9 8 3 2 du Sud était de 70 points, celui des Etats-Unis 2 sur l'Angleterre de 45, et celui de l'Autriche sur la Chine de 42. Et la cinquième Comment auriez-vous enchéri, avec votre partenaire préféré? séance confirmait la tendance. Le match Allemagne - Etats-Unis 1, pour sa part, entretenait encore le suspense, avec un avantage La séquence sud-africaine, en majeure quatrième : plus modeste de 18 points pour les Allemandes, à 32 donnes de la fin. Mais le suspense tourna court dans la cinquième séance, Ouest Nord Est Sud avec un bénéfice de 58 points en 16 donnes pour l'Allemagne. Bessis Modlin d'Ovidio Mansell Espérons qu'il durera jusqu'au bout dans les demi-finales. Passe 1 ] Passe 1 [ Passe 4 } Passe 4 { Passe 4 SA Passe 5 } Passe 6 [ (Fin) 4 } : Splinter

La séquence française, en majeure cinquième : Ouest Nord Est Sud Fihrer Cronier Swartz Willard Passe 1 { Passe 1 [ Passe 3 ] Passe 4 { Passe 4 ] Passe 4 SA Passe 5 } Contre 6 [ (Fin) 3 ] : Splinter à Trèfle

Une séquence similaire, si ce n'est que chez les Sud- Africaines, c'est Nord qui prend l'initiative de poser le Black- wood, et chez les Françaises, Sud. Le jeu de la carte ne pose guère de difficultés. Il faut tout de Un air de fête même respecter un bon minutage, ce que n'ont pas manqué de Encadré par deux salons où avaient lieu deux réceptions de faire Petra Mansell et Sylvie Willard. mariage avec flons-flons et musique à tout va, le bridgevision de Comment jouez-vous, sur l'entame du 10 de Trèfle, pour l'As, dimanche soir, retransmettant la quatrième séance des quarts de Pique pour le 9 et le Roi, et un retour d'Ouest à l'atout? finale, avait un air de fête peu habituel, mais peu propice à la con- L'impasse à Pique ayant échoué, il vous faut réussir l'impasse centration. Heureusement pour les joueurs, les bruits de la fête à Cœur. Mais soignons les communications : Cœur pour le Valet, ne leur parvenaient pas. Carreau pour le Roi, Cœur pour la Dame, et Cœur coupé, Car- Ce chelem, au son des violons yiddishs , ne fut demandé et reau pour la Dame, et Carreau coupé, Trèfle coupé, puis Dame réussi qu'à trois tables sur huit dans la Venice Cup (mais guère de Pique pour purger le dernier atout, et l'on termine avec les plus dans la Bermuda Bowl). Il n'y a pas justice : dans la rencon- deux As rouges. C'est propre.

8 22nd October - 3rd November WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Un de Pepsicola pétillant The Labours Vous n'avez pas fini d'entendre parler de cette donne dans vos chroniques de bridge. Elle a donné lieu à quelques coups d'é- of Hercules clat. Ce fut le cas pour Jacek Pszczola, dit Pepsicola, dans la ren- by contre des éliminatoires Pologne – Indonésie, du 10ème tour, sous les yeux admiratifs des spectateurs du rama. spectacular deal at the end of the fourth session of the quar- Aterfinals saw the West players at various tables struggle Donne 8, Ouest donneur, personne vulnérable. mightily. [ V 6 4 3 Board 14. Dealer East. None Vul. ]– [8 { D V 10 9 8 4 ] Q 9 7 6 }9 5 3 {K 6 [ A D 9 [ 10 8 5 2 N } K Q J 8 6 3 ] 10 8 4 3 ] A R 9 6 5 O E [ A K 6 5 4 [ Q J 9 2 {R 2 {A 5 N ] A K 8 4 ] 10 } 8 7 6 2S } A V W E { 4 3 2 { A J 8 7 5 [R 7 }AS }9 7 4 ] D V 7 2 [ 10 7 3 {7 6 3 ] J 5 3 2 } R D 10 4 { Q 10 9 Ouest Nord Est Sud } 10 5 2 Kwiecen Manoppo Pszczola Lasut Passe Passe 1 ] Passe Both tables reached Six Spades by West in USA I - Italy. How (1) should you play on a club lead? 2 } 3 { 4 ] (Fin) After winning the club lead both Hamman and Versace played (1) Drury fitté a low diamond.When North mistakenly played low there was a glimmer of hope.The ace of diamonds was followed by the ace Ouest entame du Roi de }. Comment Pepsi a-t-il gagné? and king of hearts and a heart ruff.Then came a club ruff, heart Ayant fait la levée de l'As de Trèfle, il encaissa l'As de Cœur, ruff, one round of trumps and then a diamond, hoping North was découvrant le cactus, puis rejoua Trèfle. Ouest prit et contre-at- 1-4-2-6. taqua à Carreau, pour le Roi. Pepsi coupa un Trèfle, tira l'As de This was the ending: Carreau pour éliminer la couleur, joua Pique pour la Dame (il était condamné à réussir l'impasse) et coupa son dernier Trèfle. [– Il lui restait à jouer Pique pour l'As, et à ressortir à Pique : Nord était en main (Sud n'aurait rien gagné à couper - il abandonna son ]– dernier Carreau), mais la trappe ne tarda pas à se refermer sur {– Lasut. Que son partenaire revint à Pique ou à Carreau (Est four- } Q J 8 6 nissant le 10 de Pique), il dut, à trois cartes de la fin, couper d'un honneur avec D-V-7 de Cœur - sinon, le mort aurait remporté la [A K 6N [Q ]– ]– levée en coupant - et se jeter, tête baissée, dans la fourchette W E Roi-9 du déclarant. Ainsi Est n'abandonna-t-il qu'une levée {4 {J 8 7 d'atout à la défense. Là, zut ! se dit Sud en lui même. }–S }– Brillante fin de coup. Pszczola fut un peu aidé par l'enchère de barrage de Nord à 3 {, lui permettant de mieux imaginer la main [ 10 7 de Sud. Dans le silence adverse, le coup est sans doute un peu ]– plus difficile à gagner. Le déclarant peut, en effet, imaginer deux {Q distributions en Sud pour réussir dix levées : soit la main réelle, }10 2-4-3-4 avec le Roi second à Pique, soit une main de type 3-4-3- 3, qui permet de gagner, cette fois, avec Roi-Valet de Pique North was helpless. He had to lead a club and let declarer troisième (le Roi sans le Valet ne suffit pas, Sud pouvant le déblo- ruff in dummy and pitch his losing diamond. A diamond ruff to quer au second tour de la couleur, ou même au premier). Mais si hand enabled declarer to claim tricks 12 & 13 with the [AK. on espère la seconde distribution (ce qui fut le cas pour nombre Flat Board! de déclarants), autant jouer sur la double impasse à Pique, mais elle conduit à la chute. Norberto Bocchi fut un des rares à gagner également 4 ] CALLING ALL JOURNALISTS! dans le silence adverse. Il prit l'entame du Roi de Trèfle (Nord ayant fourni une petite carte indiquant un refus) et monta aus- The ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING and presen- sitôt au mort par le Roi de Carreau, pour rejouer Trèfle.Attentif tation of the annual awards will be today at 09.15 sharp in alors à la carte de Nord, qui montra son résidu en pair-impair, il “Renoir Matisse” on the mezzanine level. se forgea une juste idée de la distribution adverse, et réussit en- We hope to see as many of you as possible. suite son contrat tout aussi brillamment que Pszczola.

9 WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS Paris, France

The French Team Open Société Générale Despite having only two weeks in which to prepare, the French Open team performed splendidly in the Paris Bermuda Bowl, reaching the quarterfinals. MICHEL ABÉCASSIS to go to a different club in order to avoid him! As a Junior, Michael Abecassis, 49, di- he became European Champi- vorced, two children (Valen- on as well as Runner-up in the tine and Victor) and one dog World Championship. Later, he (Prune). became an Olympic Champion He graduated as a doctor in 1996 and a World Champion of medicine, but stayed in this in 1997. profession for one year only Thanks to his wife, Cathérine, because of his passion for he is always very well dressed. bridge. This incurable disease She not only is the master of has left numerous traces: Eu- the house, but also a runner-up ropean Pairs Champion in at the European Pairs champi- 1991 and 1993, second in onships. Franck himself is very 1997. He has also been accu- much like the Beau Brummel of mulating French national ti- bridge who radiates a friendly tles. He is making his third ap- from left: Franck Multon, Philippe Soulet, Jean-Christophe and easy-going atmosphere pearance in the French Open Quantin, Jean-Jacques Palau, Patrick Allegrini, Michel Abécassis around him. He loves good Team at European Champi- food (his favourite restaurant is onships after Brighton in Charlot the First in Cagnes sur Mer) and has a healthy appetite. 1987 (with Philippe Soulet) and Killarney in 1991 (with JCQ). At the table, he is a "killer", this lover of team sports has only one He also is an excellent Poker player, his speciality being the shortcoming, he hates losing. Omaha high-low, and just came fourth in Las Vegas at the recent World Championships. JEAN-JACQUES PALAU He is gifted with much imagination and judgement, but can sometimes be too much of a perfectionist (he has been known Jean-Jacques Palau, 48, divorced, one son, Guillaume to stop and think for half an hour before taking a decision). It is He has adopted Nice on the Côte d´Azur as his home, a pleasure, however, to see this intelligent, but sometimes ner- though he was brought up in Africa (he learnt to play bridge in vous man, playing here and becoming more and more relaxed as Madagascar). He likes good food, folk music (among others Pete the tournament progresses. Seeger) and lounging on his sofa at home watching football. He works for a large French bank. PATRICK ALLEGRINI He too is nicknamed the Chechnian because he and Patrick Allegrini make up a pair that plays in a hair-raising style. He is a Patrick Allegrini, 44, bachelor, is a bridge professional who pairs specialist who has won Juan-les-Pins three times. runs the Concorde Bridge Club in the city where he was born, He has the demeanour of a quiet man who never smiles, but Marseilles. His passion for the game dates from very long ago, he has a wonderful dry sense of humour. from the time he was playing chess (he was the best player in the apartment house where he lived) in the backroom of a little restaurant in Marseilles. He found this game not very sociable so JEAN-CHRISTOPHE QUANTIN he offered to be a fourth with three old fishermen. This really was like in a play by Marcel Pagnol, "Tu me fends le coeur ! " he Jean-Christophe Quantin, 35, bachelor. would say when he had drunk too much Pastis, but he is sober Bridge professional, who became Editor of the "Le Bridgeur" as a judge. Nicknamed the Chechnian because his style of play is magazine some months ago. He was born in Royan, a small sea- so far away from the "standard français," this warrior from the side resort on the Atlantic, where his family has run for several mountains feels like a sheep when he sees the aggressive systems generations the best patisserie in the region, particularly famous he is confronted with here. for its chocolate specialities. He is a great cook, especially of fish, a lover of football and JCQ already has a rich career behind him: European Junior women and this is the second time he is playing for the French Champion, runner-up in the World Junior Championship, two Open Team. gold medals and one silver medal at the European Pairs Champi- onships with Michel Abécassis (1991,1993, 1997).This is the third time he is playing in the French Open Team at a European Team FRANCK MULTON Championship. He finished second in Turku, 1989, playing with Christian Mari. Franck Multon, 36. married, one daughter, Laura (10). He loves movies and big cigars (will he become the Orson A bridge professional who runs a club in his home town of Welles of bridge later?), he is discreet yet passionate at the same Nice, "Le Colonial".Already at the age of 15, he preferred playing time. He is the complete player,and an excellent partner too, but bridge over going to school.As his father was also a player,he had his main virtue is….his table presence.

10 22nd October - 3rd November WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS

PHILIPPE SOULET Asking for Tens Born in Marseilles, 47, married, two children (Alexandre and By (Wales) Diane). He also is a bridge professional, he runs one of the biggest lenn Grotheim, of the Norwegian team, is inventor of the clubs in Paris: France Bridge. GViking Club. It has a sophisticated relay method. On the deal below from their Round Robin match against Brazil it got as far He is simultaneously a journalist, a writer, an organiser of si- as locating which jack partner held. multaneous tournaments and he really is a one-man bridge "Have you ever found about tens?", I enquired, attempting a show. He is a tireless worker (average 16 hours per day) so dur- put-down. "No," replied a crestfallen Glenn, but he had a ing these championships he can afford to relax a little. thoughtful look, so the next version of the system may well rem- His record is impressive: two World Championships, in 1980 edy that defect. and 1982, European Champion in 1983, bronze medal in Beijing "What was the swing on the board?" "They didn't know in 1995. He is very pleased to be back in the French Open Team about the jack of clubs," he replied, "so had to settle for Seven after an absence of five years. It reminds him of the time when Diamonds. We were able to bid Seven Notrumps with confi- he was young (he was already playing with Michel Abécassis in dence. Still it was a lot of hard work for 2 IMPs." the 1974 European Junior Championships in Copenhagen) and is delighted to have regained a place in this team of friends. He is a Bermuda bowl Round robin Round 10 bridge player from the tips of his fingers to the tips of his toes Norway v. Brazil (his lucky number is 1) but he is also a lover of art and Bordeaux wines, who knows better than most where to find a good bar- Board 14. Dealer East. None Vul. gain. His enthusiasm makes him a great team-mate. [ A Q 7 4 ] A Q 3 HERVÉ MOUIEL - TEAM COACH {K Q J 8 Hervé Mouiel - Team Coach,Married, two children, Jéremie et }A 8 Rudy. [ 9 3N [ J 6 5 2 ] J 10 9 8 4 ] K 7 6 5 Hervé was elected by the players because of his long inter- W E national experience (twice Olympic Champion, in 1992 and { 5 4 { 7 6 3 1996, and winner of the Bermuda Bowl in 1997) and because of } 10 9 7 3S } 5 4 his tremendous desire to win. He accepted the invitation be- cause he finds it a pleasure to coach a team of good friends but [ K 10 8 also because he thinks that the team has the potential to win the ]2 championship. "If not," he says, "I would never have accepted { A 10 9 2 the job." He suffers more from every bad board than if he had } K Q J 6 2 been playing himself, but his most important work has been done before the championships started. This consisted of South North analysing the opponents´ systems and preparing defences Glenn Grotheim Terje Aa against them. He also is a friend to each individual "as we come closer to the end of the tournament, the more important the 1{ (11-15 HCP,1+ {s) 1] (Nat or any Game force) psychological side of the coaching job becomes. We are fortu- 2} (both minors, at least 9 cards) 2{ (game-forcing relay) nate in that we now have a Bridge Federation who provide us 2] (4{ - 5}) 2[ (relay for exact shape) with the means to succeed. For about ten years now, if you are 3] (3-1-4-5 shape) 3[ (relay for aces) to win a European or a World Championship you have to be and 3NT (one ace) 4} (relay for number of kings) act like a professional!" 4[ (2 kings of the same colour) 4NT (relay for queens) 5{ (1 queen) 5] (relay for which queen) GÉRARD TISSOT - NPC 5[ (}Q) 5NT (relay for jacks) 6{ (1 jack) 6] (relay for which jack) Gérard Tissot, 58, married, two children (Frédéric and Rodolphe), two grandchildren (Elliott and Jules). 6[ (}J) 7NT (we forgot to cover tens) Pass A bridge professional after retiring from business (he was di- rector and pilot at a helicopter company), this lonely mountain If this has inspired you to investigate further, check the web- bear now lives in a little village in the Haute-Savoie, somewhere site showing the full system: www.vikingclub.net between Geneva and Chamonix. He was elected by the players to become captain (he was captain of the Ladies Team in Maastricht) and he has all the qual- Follow the 35th Bermuda Bowl, the 13th ities to do this job well. He has played bridge at top level in the past, becoming French champion six times. He has been an in- Venice Cup and the 1st Seniors Bowl on ternational Tournament Director since 1976, and so helps his Internet through the WBF official web site: players avoid lodging useless appeals. He very much loves skiing (his son is trainer of the French www.bridge.gr National Skiing Team),going through the gates of the giant slalom with the same ease as he goes through the matches here.

11 WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS Paris, France

SESSIONS 5 & 6 Bermuda Bowl / Quarter-Final USA I v Italy

he United States has a long and rich history in the Bermuda proved to be 3-3, Hamman ducked a diamond to West and TBowl.The team captained by Nick Nickell is part of that his- claimed 10 tricks. tory. In fact, they entered the Paris tournament as the defending Bermuda Bowl champions and were among the favorites to con- West North East South tend for another medal. Meckstroth Versace Rodwell Lauria That is one of the reasons why their quarterfinal defeat by Pass the Italian Olympiad champions was such a shocker - not the de- 1] 1[ 3{(1) Dble feat itself but the thoroughness of the thrashing. USA I had fallen behind early in the 96-board match but had 3] Dble Pass 3[ rallied in the third and fourth sets to pull to within 1 IMP of Italy. Pass 4{ Pass 4[ Thus the Vugraph match Monday morning held considerable in- All Pass terest. (1) Heart raise It was no contest. Italy outscored USA I 57-0 in the fifth set and followed that with a 67-9 drubbing in the final set for a Rodwell also started with the singleton diamond, but Alfredo shocking 262-146 victory.Think about it - the team of Bob Ham- Versace put in the queen, losing to the king.A heart was returned man-Paul Soloway and Jeff Meckstroth-Eric Rodwell scored all of to the ace, and a spade went to Meckstroth's king.When Meck- 9 IMP over 32 boards. stroth returned a low club,Versace put in the queen and soon It wasn't that the Americans played badly - the Italians were was claiming his game. just that good. It was a remarkable performance and earned the The first of four major swings that buried USA I occurred on team revenge for their quarterfinal loss to the same team in the next deal. Bermuda in 2000. The score was 138-137 in favor of Italy when the fifth set started and in the early going it looked as though it was going to Board 4. Dealer West.All Vul. be a close match. The teams pushed the first two board as Meckstroth-Rodwell [ K 8 7 6 and Giorgio Duboin-Norberto Bocchi bid to a normal 6] which ] A K 7 2 went down on a bad trump break. Next was another push on a {2 normal 3NT with only eight tricks. On Board 3, both North-South pairs bid well to reach game, } 8 6 5 4 then played accurately to make it. [ J 10 9 5N [ 4 3 2 ] Q 6 5 4 3 ] 10 8 Board 3. Dealer South. E/W Vul. W E { 8 { K J 7 5 3 [ A 9 8 3 2 } J 10 2S } A Q 7 ]A [A Q { 10 6 4 ]J 9 } A Q 9 7 { A Q 10 9 6 4 [ K 5 4N [ 10 7 6 }K 9 3 ] Q 10 9 8 4 ] K 6 5 3 2 W E {K J 3 {9 West North East South } K 5S } J 8 6 2 Duboin Hamman Bocchi Soloway [Q J Pass Pass Pass 1{ ]J 7 Pass 1] Pass 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass { A Q 8 7 5 2 } 10 4 3 The 2NT bid showed a hand with extras and long diamonds. Duboin led the [J. Soloway won in hand, played a heart to West North East South dummy and took the diamond finesse.When he cashed the {A Duboin Hamman Bocchi Soloway and West showed out, Soloway abandoned diamonds and could Pass scramble only four more tricks.That was one down and plus 100 1] 1[ 3] Pass to Italy. Pass Dble Pass 4[ West North East South All Pass Meckstroth Versace Rodwell Lauria Bocchi led the {9, ducked to Giorgio Duboin's jack. A heart Pass Pass Pass 1{ was returned to the ace, and Hamman played a spade to the Pass 1] Pass 2NT queen and Duboin's king.The }K was retuned, and when trumps Pass 3NT All Pass

12 22nd October - 3rd November WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Duboin took advantage of the vulnerability to bid the maxi- mum with his good heart fit. Hamman and Soloway could take only four tricks for plus 100. West North East South Meckstroth Versace Rodwell Lauria 1} Pass 1{ Pass 2] Pass 2[ Pass 3} Pass 3NT All Pass

The artificial auction landed the Italians in a precarious spot - 3NT can be defeated with a heart lead, while 5} is cold. The problem for USA I was that Meckstroth had a natural diamond lead, not a heart. On the lead of the {5, Lauria was soon claim- ing plus 660. Italy's lead had grown to 161-137. Both pairs bid to 3NT and took 10 tricks on the next deal, but Italy scored again on Board 7. Board 7. Dealer South.All Vul. [ 10 2 ] 9 7 5 2 Eric Rodwell, USA { A J 10 } Q 8 7 4 Lorenzo Lauria might have had the same problems Soloway did, but he benefited from a more favourable lead. Meckstroth [6N [K J 8 3 started with the }10 (Rusinow), which went to Rodwell's queen ] K Q 8 6 ] A 3 W E and Lauria's king. Lauria started diamonds from his hand, cashing { K Q 9 3 { 8 5 4 the ace and following with the queen. Rodwell won the {K, S cashed the }A and then went into a long huddle. Finally, appar- } A J 10 6 } K 9 5 2 ently in the hope that Meckstroth had led from a four-card club [ A Q 9 7 5 4 suit, Rodwell cashed the {J and continued with a third round of ] J 10 4 clubs. Lauria was able to claim at that point for plus 600. Italy's lead had grown to 13 IMPs. {7 6 2 The Italians added another double-digit swing on the next }3 deal. West North East South Board 5. Dealer North. N/S Vul. Duboin Hamman Bocchi Soloway [A K 3 2[ ]Q 5 Dble Pass 3NT All Pass {A K Soloway started with the [7 to the 10 and jack.That was all } K J 9 4 3 2 the help Bocchi needed, and he rang up plus 600 for Italy. [ 10N [ 9 7 6 5 4 ] A 7 3 2 ] J 10 9 8 6 W E West North East South { Q 10 6 5 3 { 9 2 Meckstroth Versace Rodwell Lauria }A 8 7S }6 2[ [ Q J 8 2 Dble Pass 3NT All Pass ]K 4 { J 8 7 4 Lauria avoided the spade lead, giving Rodwell no chance to make his contract. Lauria started with the {6, which went to the } Q 10 5 king and ace. Back came the [10 to the jack and queen. Lauria West North East South got out with another diamond, taken by Rodwell with dummy's queen. Desperately hoping to put South on lead, Rodwell played Duboin Hamman Bocchi Soloway a third round of diamonds.Versace won the {J and scuttled with 1}(1) 2](2) 2NT the contract with another spade through Rodwell's hand. That 4] Pass Pass Dble was 12 more IMPs for Italy, now leading 173-137. All Pass Both North-South pairs missed game on Board 8, taking 11 tricks in 3[. (1) Strong and artificial Pushes is not what the USA needed, and the next deal didn't (2) Majors help matters.

13 WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS Paris, France

Board 9. Dealer North. E/W Vul. heart ruff and took a diamond ruff with the }K. Nine tricks had turned into eight and USA I scored plus 50. Could it be a small [ J 10 6 5 gain? Not on this day. ]J 9 West North East South {Q 4 3 Duboin Hamman Bocchi Soloway } Q 10 9 2 1{ [ A K Q 7 2 [ 9 N Pass 1[ Pass 2} ] A 10 3 2 ] Q 8 6 5 W E Pass 2{ All Pass { K 9 6 { A 10 7 2 }KS }A J 5 4 Soloway did what he could in the 4-2 fit, but he was short of ammunition and finished one down for minus 50 and another push. [8 4 3 The following deal represented only a 4-IMP swing for Italy, ]K 7 4 but it shows how accurate the Italian card play was. {J 8 5 } 8 7 6 3 Board 14. Dealer East. None Vul. [ 9 8 4 3 Both East-West pairs conducted complicated, artificial auc- ]7 tions - a total of 26 bids between the two - and both managed to make West declarer in a heart contract. The difference was { A K 10 9 8 that Bocchi-Duboin were in slam, while Meckstroth-Rodwell }J 9 2 stopped in game. [ J 10 5N [ A 7 2 Duboin got the lead the [J against his slam. Duboin won, ] 8 4 ] A K 9 6 5 2 cashed the ]A and played another heart, claiming plus 1430 W E when the friendly lie was discovered. { J 6 4 2 { 5 3 Meckstroth saved an IMP by taking all the tricks.Versace led } A Q 8 6S } 4 3 the ]9, ducked to Meckstroth's 10. Meckstroth cashed the }K [K Q 6 and [A and ruffed a spade low, following with the ]Q, pinning North's jack. Meckstroth then cashed the }A, pitching a dia- ] Q J 10 3 mond, and ruffed a club. He was soon claiming plus 710, but it {Q 7 was still a 12-IMP loss. Italy was rolling, 185-137.The Vugraph au- } K 10 7 5 dience could not believe that powerful USA I was being shut out. Even when an Italian misplayed, it didn't seem to hurt the cause. The auction was the same in both rooms. Board 11. Dealer South. None Vul. West North East South Meckstroth Versace Rodwell Lauria [ A J 9 4 3 ]K J 9 5 Duboin Hamman Bocchi Soloway 1] Pass {6 5 1[ Pass 2] All Pass }5 2 [ K 10 8 5 2N [ 7 6 Soloway started with the [K, making things easy for Bocchi, ] 8 ] Q 7 6 4 2 who lost one spade, two hearts and two diamonds for plus 110. W E Lauria started with the ]Q. Rodwell won the ace and played { J 10 7 3 { A K 4 a diamond from his hand. Lauria went up with the queen, but Ver- } 10 9 8S } K 6 4 sace overtook with the king to play the [9 through. Rodwell [Q ducked, Lauria won the queen and continued with a diamond to ] A 10 3 Versace's 9.Another spade was played and Rodwell went up with the ace. He could have made his contract from that point by fi- { Q 9 8 2 nessing in clubs, ruffing a club and exiting with a spade to Lauria's } A Q J 7 3 king. Rodwell could then ruff the club return and play a low heart West North East South from hand, endplaying South. Meckstroth Versace Rodwell Lauria Rodwell did not read the diamond situation accurately, howev- er.After winning the [A, he played a club to the queen and ruffed 1} a diamond. Lauria overruffed, cashed his spade winner and exited Pass 1[ Dble 2} in clubs. He still had a trump trick coming and Rodwell was down. 2{ 2] Pass 2NT Italy tacked on another 6 IMPs on Board 15 when Meckstroth Pass 3} All Pass and Rodwell overbid to 3NT, down one, while the Italians in the other room played 1NT making 10 tricks. Meckstroth led the ]8 to the jack, 7 and 3. Lauria followed The devastating session finished with a push and the Italians with a club to the queen. He then led the [Q to the ace and fi- had a 185-137 lead. The Americans had 16 boards to try to put nessed in clubs again. Meckstroth followed on the second round together a rally. They had gone to bed Sunday night with mo- of clubs with the 10, apparently convincing Lauria that he had mentum apparently on their side, but everything had changed started with a doubleton.At this point. Lauria had nine tricks via with the new day. five clubs, three hearts and a spade, but he made the curious play The start to the final set was not what USA I wanted:Versace of the {9 from his hand. Meckstroth won the {10 and continued and Lauria bid and made 4[ at their table for plus 450 while the suit. Rodwell cashed his two diamonds, gave Meckstroth a Meckstroth and Rodwell could collect only plus 300 from 2}

14 22nd October - 3rd November WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS doubled.Another 4 IMPs to Italy. West North East South After being held scoreless for 17 straight boards in sets five Hamman Versace Soloway Lauria and six, the Americans finally put some points on the board. 4{ Pass Pass Dble Board 2. Dealer East. N/S Vul. Pass 4[ All Pass

[9 6 3 Versace took only 11 tricks, but it was easy to see that if he ] Q J 9 5 4 had been in slam he would no doubt have made his contract. {5 There was hope, therefore, among USA partisans that there was }K Q J 5 a 13-IMP gain in the offing. It was not to be. Meckstroth and Rod- well climbed all the way to 7NT,which had no play, so Italy added [ A 7 4N [ K Q J 10 another 13 IMPs to their IMP total instead of losing 13. ] 10 3 ] 8 7 2 On the next deal, 13 tricks were made by both declarers in a W E { K Q 8 6 4 3 { J 2 spade contract. Neither got past 4[, however.It was another lost S opportunity for USA I. } 4 3 } 10 8 7 2 On this deal, a reasonable bid by Soloway turned out badly [8 5 2 for his team, as the Americans' fortunes grew worse by the ]A K 6 minute. { A 10 9 7 Board 7. Dealer South.All Vul. }A 9 6 [3 2 West North East South ] 9 7 4 2 Duboin Meckstroth Bocchi Rodwell { J 8 7 6 5| Pass 1NT }9 5 Pass 2{ Pass 2[ Pass 3{ Pass 3] [ 9 8 N [ Q J 7 5 4 ] 6 5 ] 10 8 Pass 4] All Pass W E { A Q 10 9 4 { K 3 Rodwell had 10 easy tricks for plus 620. At the other table, } A 8 3 2S } K J 10 6 Hamman and Soloway found an unusual save. [ A K 10 6 West North East South ] A K Q J 3 Hamman Versace Soloway Lauria {2 Pass 1NT }Q 7 4 3{ 3[(1) Dble 4} 4[ Pass Pass Dble Meckstroth and Rodwell reached 4] by South, but on the All Pass trump lead from Duboin Rodwell had only nine tricks. He could engineer a club ruff to enter dummy, then double finesse in Versace led the }K, overtaken by Lauria with the ace. He spades, but the only way to do that would be to use a trump, and knew his partner was short in diamonds, possibly void. Lauria he would not be able to avoid losing a spade. cashed two high hearts and gave his partner a diamond ruff.Ver- sace cashed the }Q, but that was it for the defense - Hamman West North East South could use his diamonds to pick up North's trumps. Down three, Hamman Versace Soloway Lauria minus 500, and 3 IMPs to the Americans.They needed the IMPs 1] in bigger bunches, but it was a start. 2{ 2] 2[ 3[ On Board 4, Hamman got busy with the diamond suit again, and it appeared he had helped his team to another gain. It did not Pass 4] All Pass turn out that way, however. After Soloway's spade bid, Hamman naturally started off with Board 4. Dealer West.All Vul. that suit. Unfortunately for USA I, that gave Lauria all the timing he needed to make the contract.The opening lead went to the [ K 8 6 5 2 jack and ace, and Lauria cashed two high hearts, then got out ]A 8 with a club. Soloway won, played the {K and a diamond, but Lau- {6 ria ruffed, and played another club.When he got to dummy with the club ruff, he was able to finesse in spades and ruff his loser. } K Q 10 7 4 That was 10 tricks for Lauria and 12 IMPs to Italy.The surprising [ –N [ J 9 7 4 IMP total was now 224 for Italy, 140 for USA I. ] Q 10 9 5 3 ] 6 2 Matters only got worse from there, as Hamman and Soloway W E underdefended a doubled spade contract, defeating it only two { K J 10 9 4 3 2 { Q 5 tricks when the same contract was down three in the other } 9S } J 8 5 3 2 room. Meckstroth and Rodwell bid to a no-play club slam while [ A Q 10 3 Lauria and Versace stopped in 3NT, taking 10 tricks. ]K J 7 4 Just about everything the Americans did turned out poorly, while the Italians could hardly pull a wrong card - from the bid {A 8 7 box or from their hands. }A 6 The final score was Italy 262, USA I 146.

15 WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS Paris, France

SESSIONS 1, 2 & 3 Seniors Bowl / Final USA II v Poland

Session One Board 8. Dealer West. None Vul. [8 2 ] K 10 6 5 { 10 7 4 } 7 6 5 4 [ 10 7N [ 6 5 3 ] Q 9 8 3 ] J 2 W E { K 8 6 5 { A J 9 3 } Q 3 2S } K J 10 8 [ A K Q J 9 4 ]A 7 4 {Q 2 }A 9

For USA2, Grant Baze and Gene Freed got all the way to 1[ on the North/South cards, making a trick more than they were entitled to for +170. For Poland, Jerzy Russyan and Wit Klapper bid it 1} - 1{ - 4[ - Pass, where 1} was Polish - natural, a weak Chris Larsen and Joseph Kivel, USA II no trump type, or strong and artificial - and 1{ was 0-6 or some 4] losing the three diamonds, a ruff and the ]A, that looked like stronger hands with one or more minors. Gary Hayden led the 11 IMPs in for Poland but Baze and Freed also managed to find eight of hearts to the ten and jack, ducked by Russyan. John On- their way to 3NT and came home with an overtrick; +430 and 1 stott returned his remaining heart to declarer's ace and Russyan IMP to USA2. cashed all six trumps.The pressure had the desired effect, as Hay- den threw away all his diamonds and Onstott came down to {AJ Board 10. Dealer East.All Vul. doubleton.All that Russyan had to do was to cross to the king of hearts to play a diamond up but he carelessly played a low dia- [ K 10 7 5 4 3 mond from hand instead and there was no recovery; down one ]K 9 5 for -50 and 6 IMPs to USA2 when it might have been 9 IMPs to {J 5 Poland. }8 4 Board 9. Dealer North. E/W Vul. [8 2N [A 9 6 ] A Q 10 2 ] J 6 4 3 [A K J W E ] Q J 10 8 { Q 9 { 10 8 7 6 3 { J 9 8 6 } K Q 6 3 2S } A }A Q [Q J ]8 7 [ 4 3 2N [ Q 10 8 7 6 5 ]7 3 2 ]A 5 { A K 4 2 W E { A K Q 3 { 10 } J 10 9 7 5 } J 10 2S } 9 7 5 3 West North East South [9 Hayden Klapper Onstott Russyan ] K 9 6 4 Pass Pass { 7 5 4 2 1} 1[ Dble Rdbl } K 8 6 4 2] Pass Pass 2[ 3] 3[ All Pass It looked as though Klapper had got back the points given away on the previous deal when he made a big winning decision Onstott cashed the ace of clubs and switched to a low heart on this one. He opened a Polish 1} as North and it went 1[ - to Hayden's ace. Hayden cashed the queen of clubs and contin- Dble - 2[ back to him. Despite the strong probability of a 4-4 ued with the }K, which Klapper ruffed with the ten as Onstott heart fit, he jumped to 3NT.After a spade lead into his tenace, discarded a diamond. Klapper played on trumps and Onstott Klapper played on hearts. Onstott won and switched to the {10 won the second round to play a diamond. Klapper could cross to and Hayden cashed out the diamonds for +400 to Poland.With the king of hearts, draw the last trump and get back to dummy

16 22nd October - 3rd November WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS with a diamond to pitch his heart loser on a club; +140. West East It looks as though the defence can do better.Firstly, if Hayden Hayden Onstott plays back a small club instead of the king, declarer still has to ruff high but now the suit is not established. If declarer now plays on 1{ trumps, Onstott wins the first round and plays a heart, and how 2} 2{ is declarer to avoid another major-suit loser? But even after the 2NT 3NT clubs have been established, if Onstott wins the first spade, leav- Pass ing a blockage, and returns a heart to the king, declarer cannot draw trumps without losing a fifth trick. Two Clubs was game-forcing, usually natural but possibly the However, the fate of 3[ hardly mattered, as at the other table start of a strong diamond raise. When Onstott showed a mini- Stefan Szenberg and Andrzej Wilkosz had bid the East/West cards mum semi- with his third call, Hayden called it a day, to 4] and brought it home for +620 and 13 IMPs to Poland. when I would have been tempted to have one try with 4{.With both minors coming in, that was another +690 and a push board. Board 12. Dealer West. N/S Vul. Board 14. Dealer East. None Vul. [ Q 6 5 3 ] A Q J 8 [8 { A Q 8 6 ] Q 9 7 6 }A {K 6 } K Q J 8 6 3 [ K 8N [ 7 4 2 ] K 6 4 3 ] 10 9 7 [ A K 6 5 4N [ Q J 9 2 W E ] A K 8 4 ] 10 { J 9 7 3 { 10 4 2 W E S { 4 3 2 { A J 8 7 5 } 10 7 6 } K Q 5 4 S [ A J 10 9 }A }9 7 4 ]5 2 [ 10 7 3 {K 5 ] J 5 3 2 } J 9 8 3 2 { Q 10 9 } 10 5 2 This was the first of a run of three consecutive boards fea- turing a borderline slam contract. Baze/Freed duly bid to 6[ for Perhaps concerned at having just missed a making slam, Szen- +1430. Could the Poles match that? berg/Wilkosz promptly bid to 6[ on this one and found that they had to lose two diamond tricks; -50. Another chance then for North South USA2 and one that they gladly took. Hayden opened 1[ and On- Klapper Russyan stott simply raised to 4[ over Klapper's 2} . Hayden 1} 1[ gave that a look but did the right thing when he passed; +450 and 2{ 2] 11 IMPs to USA2.They ended the first set ahead by 41-16 IMPs. 4[ All Pass Session Two One Club was Polish and 1[ a natural positive response.Two Board 17. Dealer North. None Vul. Diamonds was artificial and game-forcing and 2] showed up to [ 8 6 3 2 11 HCP, balanced and with only four spades. Klapper took the slightly cautious view to settle for game and that was 13 IMPs to ]8 USA2. { J 10 9 8 6 Board 13. Dealer North.All Vul. } Q 10 2 [ K Q 4 [ A 10 [8 5 4 N ] A 5 4 3 ] K Q 10 7 ] Q 7 6 5 4 W E { A 4 2 { K Q 5 3 {9 7 6 }6 4 3S }A J 8 }Q 9 [ J 9 7 5 [ A 10 3 [ K Q J 2 N ] J 9 6 2 ]K 8 ]J 2 W E {7 { A K 5 { J 10 8 4 2 } K 9 7 5 } K 10 8 5 2S } A J [9 7 6 West North East South ] A 10 9 3 Russyan Baze Klapper Freed {Q 3 Pass 1} Pass 1] Pass 2{ Pass } 7 6 4 3 2NT Pass 3} Pass Szenberg/Wilkosz stopped in 3NT, scoring +690, so there 3NT Pass 4} Pass was an opportunity for another big swing to USA2. 4NT Pass 6] All Pass

17 WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS Paris, France

One Club was polish and 2{ showed a game-force.Two No West North East South Trump promised extra values but only four hearts in a balanced Russyan Baze Klapper Freed hand. Two further relays elicited the information that Russyan was 3-4-3-3 and had two key cards for hearts.Alas, the 4-1 trump Pass Pass 1{ Pass split left declarer with no chance; one down for -50. The good 1] Dble Pass 2} news for Poland was that Chris Larsen and Joseph Kivel also bid All Pass to the good but doomed slam for the same -50 and a push. West North East South Board 19. Dealer South. E/W Vul. Larsen Wilkosz Kivel Wala [ A 9 8 3 2 Pass Pass Pass 1{ ]A Pass 1] Pass 2NT { 10 6 4 Pass 3NT All Pass } A Q 9 7 [ K 5 4N [ 10 7 6 With no opposition bidding to help him with the lie of the ] Q 10 9 8 4 ] K 6 5 3 2 cards, Wala did not find a winning line in 3NT and was down W E {K J 3 {9 two for -200. At the other table, Klapper opened in third seat S and Russyan scraped up a response. When Baze doubled for } K 5 } J 8 6 2 take-out, Freed allowed his lack of a trump fit to outweigh the [Q J high-card strength of his hand and bid a quiet 2}, where he ]J 7 played for +130 and 8 IMPs to USA2. Of course, with the ben- { A Q 8 7 5 2 efit of the East/West contributions to the auction, the Ameri- } 10 4 3 cans would have been very likely to bring home 3NT had they reached it. West North East South Russyan Baze Klapper Freed Board 22. Dealer East. E/W Vul. 2{ [ J 9 7 6 2 2] 5{ All Pass ]K 10 West North East South {9 8 6 Larsen Wilkosz Kivel Wala }6 4 3 Pass [ A K Q 10 [ 4 3 1] 1[ 3] Pass N ]5 ]Q J 8 3 Pass Dble Pass 4[ W E All Pass { A K 10 3 { 7 4 2 S The weak two in diamonds worked perfectly for the Ameri- } A Q 8 2 } K 10 9 7 cans when Baze could raise straight to game. Russyan led the ten [8 5 of hearts to dummy's ace and Freed tried a diamond to the ] A 9 7 6 4 2 queen and king. He ruffed the heart continuation, played a dia- mond to the ace and led the jack of spades. Had the club finesse {Q J 5 been offside, Russyan's failure to cover the spade might have }J 5 been expensive but not on the actual deal. Freed established the spades, gave up a diamond and claimed; +400. West North East South Not having a weak 2{ in his armoury, Wlodzimierz Wala Russyan Baze Klapper Freed passed as dealer and the auction followed very different lines. Pass 2] When Wilkosz could make a competitive double of 3],Wala felt Dble All Pass that he had more than sufficient to jump to game. However, after a diamond lead, Wilkosz could not find a way home; down one West North East South for -50 and 10 IMPs to USA2. Larsen Wilkosz Kivel Wala Board 20. Dealer West.All Vul. Pass 2{ [ K 8 7 6 Dble 2] Pass Pass ] A K 7 2 3] Dble Pass Pass {2 Rdbl Pass 3NT All Pass } 8 6 5 4 Russyan doubled Freed's natural for take-out [ J 10 9 5N [ 4 3 2 and Klapper passed for penalties. Russyan cashed two top spades ] Q 6 5 4 3 ] 10 8 W E then switched to his trump.That went to the ten, jack and ace, { 8 { K J 7 5 3 and Freed exited with the jack of clubs. Russyan put the queen } J 10 2S } A Q 7 on that, though it is very unlikely that declarer actually has the [A Q king-jack for this play. Still, that need not have mattered, because clearly Klapper could have afforded to overtake to push a dia- ]J 9 mond through. The combination of defensive plays to this trick { A Q 10 9 6 4 cost a doubled undertrick. Russyan exited with ace and another }K 9 3 club, ruffed by Freed, who this time exited with the jack of dia-

18 22nd October - 3rd November WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS monds. Russyan could do no better than play three rounds of di- West North East South amonds. Freed won, crossed to the king of hearts and took a ruff; Russyan Baze Klapper Freed three down for -500. Larsen doubled the multi opening then cuebid on the next Pass 1[ 2{ Dble round - presumably a second double would have shown greater Pass 3[ All Pass heart length. Kivel played 3NT, where he made an overtrick for +630 and 4 IMPs to USA2. West North East South With 6} eminently playable on the East/West cards, the Larsen Wilkosz Kivel Wala weak two bids had done their work well, allowing neither set of Pass 1[ 2{ 2] opponents to explore the hand at all. 3{ 4[ All Pass

Board 23. Dealer South.All Vul. Unfortunately for the Americans, Freed misread his partner's [ 10 2 second call and thought that it had been only 2[, hence his pass. When Klapper led a low club, Russyan did not put up his king, so ] 9 7 5 2 Baze made an eleventh trick for +200. { A J 10 There were no such difficulties at the other table, where } Q 8 7 4 Wilkosz blasted into 4[. He did not get the present in the club suit but +420 was still worth 6 IMPs to Poland. [6N [K J 8 3 ] K Q 8 6 ] A 3 W E Board 25. Dealer North. E/W Vul. { K Q 9 3 { 8 5 4 [ J 10 6 5 } A J 10 6S } K 9 5 2 ]J 9 [ A Q 9 7 5 4 {Q 4 3 ] J 10 4 } Q 10 9 2 {7 6 2 [ A K Q 7 2 [ 9 }3 N ] A 10 3 2 ] Q 8 6 5 W E West North East South { K 9 6 { A 10 7 2 Russyan Baze Klapper Freed }KS }A J 5 4 2[ [8 4 3 Dble All Pass ]K 7 4 Having just been doubled on the previous deal, Freed mimed {J 8 5 fear of another penalty double as he put the 2[ card onto the } 8 7 6 3 bidding tray and, sure enough, another take-out double was left in by Klapper. Russyan led the king of diamonds to dummy's ace West North East South and Freed led the [10 to the jack and queen then played a dia- Russyan Baze Klapper Freed mond up. Russyan found the best defence now when he switched Pass Pass Pass to a low heart to his partner's ace. Two more hearts allowed Klapper to pitch his remaining diamond.The ensuing ruff not only 1} Pass 1] Pass gave the defence a trick but also took out the dummy entry for 2{ Pass 2NT Pass the second spade finesse. The contract was two down for an- 3} Pass 3{ Pass other 500 to Poland. 3] Pass 4} Pass Alas, the bidding record from the other table is missing, but 4{ Pass 4] Pass the contract was 3NT by East/West, failing by a trick for 100 to Poland and 12 IMPs. 5] Pass 6] All Pass West North East South Board 24. Dealer West. None Vul. Larsen Wilkosz Kivel Wala [ A K J 9 8 7 4 Pass Pass Pass ]7 3 1[ Pass 2{ Pass {2 3{ Pass 3] Pass } A 10 7 4] All Pass [ 10 5N [ Q 3 ] Q 9 8 4 ] K J In the Polish auction, 1} was Polish and 2{ game-forcing.Two W E No Trump showed extras but only four hearts in a balanced { Q 7 6 { A J 10 9 4 hand. Klapper showed his 1-4-4-4 shape then accepted Russyan's } K 6 5 4S } Q 8 3 2 slam invitation. The American auction never got close to slam - [6 2 not that you would worry too much about not being in it, until ] A 10 6 5 2 you found that it had been bid and made at the other table. Klapper won the spade lead and played ace and another { K 8 5 3 heart, covered all round. Freed guessed to try a diamond now }J 9 but it didn't matter; +1430 and 13 IMPs to Poland.

19 WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS Paris, France

Board 26. Dealer East.All Vul. West North East South [K 9 3 Larsen Wilkosz Kivel Wala ] Q 8 5 3 2 Pass 1} Pass 1[ {K J 9 Pass 2NT Pass 3} }4 2 Pass 3[ Pass 4[ Pass 5} Pass 5[ [ 8 5 4 2 [ A Q J 10 7 6 N All Pass ]A K J ]9 W E {8 4 2 {A Q Baze/Freed stayed safely at the four level and Baze came } A 9 5S } K Q 8 7 home with an overtrick; +450. I am not at all convinced that Wilkosz was entitled to make [– another move over Wala's 4[ sign-off, having already shown his ] 10 7 6 4 big balanced hand and spade support. With three top losers, { 10 7 6 5 3 Wilkosz had put his side in some jeopardy, and when Larsen led a club to his partner's ace the defenders had made a good start } J 10 6 3 to cashing them. However, Kivel could not see that his partner West North East South held the ]K and not instead the ]Q. He switched to a diamond, giving Wala three tricks in that suit and a pitch for one of his Russyan Baze Klapper Freed hearts.Wala won, played a spade to dummy, then unblocked the 1} Pass diamond, crossed to the king of clubs and took his pitch on the 1[ Pass 2{ Pass ace of diamonds. Now he played a heart and the defence went 2NT Pass 3} Pass wrong when Larsen ducked, forcing Kivel to win the ace. Back 3NT Pass 4} Pass came a spade and Wala won, ruffed a heart and crossed back to dummy with another spade. Now came the critical moment in 4NT Pass 6[ All Pass the hand. A small heart lead would have brought down the king and the Poles would have survived their little adventure, but Wala West North East South tried the effect of leading the jack to try to the ten. That Larsen Wilkosz Kivel Wala meant that he had to concede a heart at the end for down one 1[ Pass and 11 IMPs to USA2. With 16 boards to play, USA2 held a useful but not insur- 2} Pass 4] Pass mountable lead of 88-51 IMPs. 4[ Pass 4NT Pass 5] Pass 6[ All Pass Set Three

In the by-now-familiar Polish methods, Russyan showed his Board 33. Dealer North. None Vul. shape and extras, then two key cards for spades.The Americans [ A K Q 7 5 got to slam just as confidently via a splinter raise of clubs by ]K Q J 5 Kivel. However, they soon got back into spades. Both declarers played ace and another spade to avoid any possibility of a defen- { Q 10 9 6 sive ruff; a push at +1430. }– [3 2N [J 9 Board 32. Dealer West. E/W Vul. ] 10 8 6 4 2 ] A 3 W E [ A K Q J { A 5 4 2 { 8 7 3 ] J 9 8 5 } 8 5S } A Q 10 4 3 2 { A 10 5 [ 10 8 6 4 }K Q ]9 7 [9 6 5N [4 {K J ] A 10 6 2 ] K 4 3 W E } K J 9 7 6 { 9 6 2 { Q 8 7 4 3 West North East South } A 5 2S } J 9 8 4 Russyan Kivel Klapper Larsen [ 10 8 7 3 2 1[ 2} Pass ]Q 7 Pass Dble All Pass {K J } 10 7 6 3 West North East South Hayden Wilkosz Onstott Szenberg West North East South 1[ 2} 2[ Russyan Baze Klapper Freed Pass 4[ All Pass Pass 2NT Pass 3] When partner opens a five-card 1[ bid and right-hand-oppo- Pass 3[ Pass 3NT nent 2}, which is the more significant feature of the Pass 4[ All Pass South hand, the four-card trump support for partner, or the juicy

20 22nd October - 3rd November WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS club holding? Larsen liked the club holding enough to pass and ued with ace and another club and looked distinctly unhappy then pass again when the reopening double came around to him. when Russyan showed out. Kivel ducked the club but nothing In contrast, Szenberg gave a simple spade raise, after which good developed for him and he was one down for -50.Wilkosz, Wilkosz raised himself to game. who had slightly less information from the auction, went down in Four Spades was easy and Wilkosz soon chalked up +450. similar fashion at the other table. Which way the swing would go would be decided at the other When spades show up to be 4-0, declarer should immediate- table, with the defence favourite to come out on top. ly play to ruff a club and can then come back to hand once with Larsen led a spade against 2} doubled and Kivel won the the ace of hearts and once with a diamond ruff to take the spade queen and switched to the ]K. Klapper won the ace and exited finesse and draw the last trump. with the jack of spades. Kivel won, cashed the jack of hearts, and switched to the nine of diamonds to the jack and ace. If the {9 Board 38. Dealer East. E/W Vul. was top or third highest, as it looks to be, then Larsen might have [ Q J 6 3 divined the diamond position when declarer played low without a flicker. In that case, he would have done better to play the king ]A 6 2 on the first round. As it was, the diamonds were blocked and {9 there was no way back to the North hand. Klapper ruffed a heart } A 9 8 3 2 and was over-ruffed, but after cashing the king of diamonds [ 8 2N [ K 9 5 4 Larsen had to lead a spade for a ruff and discard. Klapper ruffed ] K 9 8 3 ] Q J 10 7 in dummy while throwing his losing diamond from hand then W E ruffed a diamond and was over-ruffed.The timing was such that { A Q J 10 8 3 { 6 5 4 he had another endplay on Larsen and escaped for just two }5S }Q 6 down; -300 and 4 IMPs to Poland. [ A 10 7 Board 36. Dealer West.All Vul. ]5 4 {K 7 2 [ K 8 6 5 2 } K J 10 7 4 ]A 8 {6 West North East South } K Q 10 7 4 Russyan Kivel Klapper Larsen Pass Pass [–N [J 9 7 4 ] Q 10 9 5 3 ] 6 2 1{ Dble 1] 3NT W E { K J 10 9 4 3 2 { Q 5 All Pass } 9S } J 8 5 3 2 West North East South [ A Q 10 3 Hayden Wilkosz Onstott Szenberg ]K J 7 4 Pass 1} {A 8 7 2{ Dble Pass 3} }A 6 All Pass West North East South Kival and Larsen would have been a little concerned that their lead was shrinking, having collected only +300 on Board 33 Russyan Kivel Klapper Larsen and then gone down in a slam that should have been made.They 2] 2[ Pass 3] settled their nerves a little by bidding to the low point-count 4{ Pass Pass 4NT 3NT on this deal, missed by the Poles at the other table. After Pass 5] Pass 6[ the lead of the queen of diamonds to his king. Larsen came to All Pass eleven tricks for +460 and 7 IMPs against the Poles' +150 from the other room. West North East South Board 39. Dealer South.All Vul. Hayden Wilkosz Onstott Szenberg Pass 1[ Pass 2NT [3 2 3{ 4{ Pass 4NT ] 9 7 4 2 Pass 5[ Pass 6] { J 8 7 6 5 Pass 6[ All Pass }9 5 [ 9 8N [ Q J 7 5 4 Russyan opened 2] to show a weak hand with at least 5-5 in ] 6 5 ] 10 8 hearts and any other suit then came again to show his excep- W E tional distribution. Hayden, who did not have such a weapon in { A Q 10 9 4 { K 3 his armoury, passed as dealer then contented himself with a sim- } A 8 3 2S } K J 10 6 ple 3{ overcall, implying hearts also to explain the lack of an ear- [ A K 10 6 lier pre-empt. Both Norths declared 6[ on the lead of the queen ] A K Q J 3 of diamonds and both, sadly, were found wanting. Kivel won the diamond, cashed the ace of spades then played {2 a spade to the king and drew the remaining trumps. He contin- }Q 7 4

21 WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS Paris, France

West North East South Board 43. Dealer South. None Vul. Russyan Kivel Klapper Larsen [ Q J 9 5 2 1] ]Q 9 2{ Pass 2[ Dble { Q J 10 4 2 Pass 3] All Pass }A West North East South [ 7 3N [ K 10 8 6 4 Hayden Wilkosz Onstott Szenberg ] 7 5 4 3 ] K J 10 W E 1] { K 9 7 5 { 6 3 Pass 1[ Pass 4{ } 7 4 3S } 9 8 5 Pass 4] Pass 4[ [A Pass 5] All Pass ] A 8 6 2 This was a great opportunity missed by Poland. The Ameri- {A 8 cans stopped in partscore, where they made ten tricks after a } K Q J 10 6 2 spade lead to the queen and ace; +170.All Wilkosz/Szenberg had to do was to bid to 4] and make it for a big gain and, sure West North East South enough, given a free run they did get to game - but then went a Russyan Kivel Klapper Larsen level too high. Perhaps, if South cannot bear to pass over his part- ner's 4] sign-off, then the 4{ splinter is not the best approach to 1} take. Certainly, it looks foolish to go on to the five level and find Pass 1[ Pass 2] that you have three top losers; -100 and 7 IMPs to USA2 instead Pass 3{ Pass 3NT of 10 to Poland. Pass 4NT Pass 6} Board 41. Dealer North. E/W Vul. All Pass [ A K J 9 3 West North East South ]K 7 Hayden Wilkosz Onstott Szenberg {A 2 1} }A K J 7 Pass 1[ Pass 2] Pass 3NT All Pass [ Q 7 4N [ 8 6 5 2 ] 10 9 8 ] J 5 3 W E I am sure that facing a different South hand North could re- { 10 7 6 5 { Q 8 4 3 gret not going more slowly, but on the actual deal Wilkosz's ter- } 8 4 3S } 9 5 minal jump to 3NT was much more successful than Kivel's slow- er approach. It is surely impossible for South not to bid the club [10 slam facing an invitational sequence in the American auction. ] A Q 6 4 2 In 6}, Larsen won the spade lead and tried a heart to the {K J 9 queen. That lost to the ace and back came a club. He was two } Q 10 6 2 down from here after ruffing out the [K; -100. Meanwhile, 3NT was quite secure and that is all that Wilkosz West North East South made; +400 and 11 IMPs to Poland. Russyan Kivel Klapper Larsen But the boards were running out and the Poles had wasted 2} Pass 2] the best of their opportunities. USA2 won the set by 21-20 and the match by 108-70 IMPs. Grant Baze, Gene Freed, Garey Hay- Pass 2[ Pass 3} den, John Onstott, Joseph Kivel and Chris Larsen were Seniors Pass 4} Pass 4NT Champions of the World! Pass 5{ Pass 7} As soon as the match result was confirmed, the happy Ameri- All Pass can players were called to the podium and introduced to the wait- ing audience. It was an emotional moment for the Americans,after West North East South all that has happened in the last few weeks, and after being pre- Hayden Wilkosz Onstott Szenberg sented they, along with the whole crowd including WBF President 2} Pass 2] Jose Damiani, gave an enthusiastic rendition of 'God Bless Ameri- ca'. I am sure that we detected a few tears amongst all the smiles. Pass 2[ Pass 3} Pass 4} Pass 4{ Pass 4] Pass 4[ Smoking is forbidden Pass 4NT Pass 5{ in the corridors outside Pass 7} All Pass the playing area. Two smooth auctions effortlessly reached the excellent and cold grand slam.Where Larsen took a simple approach and asked for key cards as soon as he found a fit, Szenberg preferred to Smokers should go start a cuebidding sequence, but with the same end result; +1440 outside to the Terrace. and a push.

22